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Resistance to baloxavir marboxil, a recently approved drug to treat influenza infection, was thought to make the virus less fit. This study reports that resistant viruses isolated from Japanese patients have normal replicative abilities and pathogenicity in animal models and thus might spread in humans.
The in vivo structure of a T2SS from Legionella pneumophila elucidates the structure and function of the different components of this macromolecular complex that exports a wide range of virulence factors.
The combined use of genome sequencing, cultivation and phenotypic characterization of 79 globally distributed strains from the bacterial phylum Planctomycetes sheds light on their varied cell shapes, modes of cell division and extensive signalling and metabolic potential.
Hergenrother and colleagues develop a web portal to help predict key permeation aspects of query compounds using the eNTRy rules they recently developed. They use this approach to screen antibiotics that are effective against Gram-positive bacteria and engineer a modified version of a FabI inhibitor that is an effective Gram-negative antibiotic.
The cryo-electron microscopy structures of the cell-binding component of the Clostridioides difficile transferase toxin in different oligomeric states reveal the conformational changes undergone by the toxin while inserting into target membranes to form a pore.
Members of the Enterobacteriaceae, including adherent invasive Escherichia coli, reprogram their metabolism to preferentially consume dietary serine during periods of inflammation in the gut to promote their growth and outcompete other microbiome members.
Viral infection from the basolateral side of intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) is shown to elicit a stronger intrinsic immune response than apical infection, an effect driven by the polarized sorting of Toll-like receptor 3. Experiments in mice and human cells suggest that the cellular polarity program is integral to the ability of IECs to tolerate gut commensals while remaining responsive to invasive pathogens.
Small colony variants of Staphylococcus aureus induce glycolysis and necroptosis in host cells, which impairs trained immunity and host protection from subsequent S. aureus infection.
Here, the authors use metabolomics and sequencing to assess changes in chemicals and microbial communities, including fungi and microeukaryotes, across an urbanization gradient in South America.
A consortium of four human gut microbiota species, including Eggerthella lenta, can convert plant-derived lignans into bioactive enterolignans via a five-step pathway, providing mechanistic insight into the production of these protective metabolites.
Depletion of SAMHD1 has been shown to generate DNA damage and trigger cGAS–STING-mediated immunity. How HIV-2 and SIV bypass this activation, given Vpx-mediated depletion of SAMHD1, is unknown. Vpx is now shown to efficiently inhibit cGAS–STING-induced innate immunity through association with a new STING domain.
A modified mouse model that mimics human serum levels of biotin shows that inhibition of biotin synthesis can effectively treat infections caused by diverse antibiotic-resistant pathogens.
Single-cell imaging analysis shows that translation-inhibiting antibiotics disrupt Vibrio cholerae biofilm structure and enable entry of bacteriophages and intruder cells.
This study answers the long-standing question of why the interaction between cyclophilin A (CypA) and HIV-1 capsid (CA) protein stimulates HIV-1 infectivity in human cells. Disruption of the CA−CypA interaction renders HIV-1 susceptible to potent restriction by human TRIM5α in primary blood cells, which occurs before reverse transcription.
Ruminococcus gnavus is a mucus-associated gut commensal that can release the sialic acid, 2,7-anhydro-Neu5Ac. Here, the authors identify the pathway for its transportation and metabolism in R. gnavus, and show that this pathway is essential for its spatial localization in vivo.
Flavivirus infection leads to a rearrangement of host cell ER membranes that creates an environment permissive to viral replication. The morphology of these membrane rearrangements is known, but the mechanisms involved are unclear. Here, atlastins—ER-resident membrane-bound GTPases of the dynamin family—are shown to be targeted by flaviviruses to establish their replication organelle and for virion maturation and secretion.
The structure of a transferrin receptor from the parasite Trypanosoma brucei in complex with human transferrin helps to understand how the parasite can use surface exposed receptors to acquire nutrients during infection while avoiding host immune detection.
Using metagenomics and metatranscriptomics, up to 16 strains of intracellular, sulfur-oxidizing symbiotic bacteria were identified in individual mussels with different functions, indicating that high strain diversity is present in symbioses.
The host protein Transportin-1 is a co-factor of HIV-1 infection, binding to the viral capsid to regulate the release of the viral genome and promoting its nuclear import.